A Mission to Download: Skid Row Internet Cafe Gives Homeless Hope
By Brent Hopkins, Press-Telegram, Long Beach, Calif.
Feb. 2–LOS ANGELES — As he makes his way through life on Skid Row, Eddie Guevara carries with him a toothbrush, a cap, some packets of salt and an e-mail address.
The toothbrush keeps the 42-year-old bricklayer healthy, the hat keeps him warm, the salt makes the meals he receives at the Union Rescue Mission on San Pedro Street a little more palatable. But it’s the e-mail he sees as his ticket out.
And now that he has a chance to check it, he’s feeling confident about his chances to work his way back to a regular life.
“I’m not a street person. I’m looking for jobs,” he said. “Now I can spend my time doing that instead of spending all my time walking around, looking for a library to get on the Internet.”
On Wednesday, Guevara logged on to become one of the inaugural users of the mission’s Internet cafe. Envisioned to give the homeless a chance to track down family members and search for work and lodging, the eight-computer site offers cheap snacks, hot drinks and inexpensive online access.
For $1, they can get a large espresso, latte, mocha or 30 minutes on the Web. Billed as the first of its kind in the area, the cafe provides a surprisingly cheery enclave not far from grim streets filled with vagabonds.
As the name suggests, Skid Row is not an inviting place. Men and women encased in layers of frayed clothes push strollers and wheelchairs converted to mobile closets. Jaywalkers crisscross the streets.
Guevara, who came from Wisconsin seeking work, ended up here after his construction job at UCLA finished. With no family and friends in town, he paid $190 a week for a room at a hotel but ended up in the mission after his money ran out.
“I’ve got to get my stuff together because I don’t want to be here forever,” he said. “When I first got down here, it was a nightmare.”
His clothes are clean and he keeps his moustache neatly trimmed. He says he’s no computer geek but needs to get online to stay in touch with his kids back home and his pastor.
Invoking the mission’s religious mission, George Bell, vice president of men’s ministries, offered a prayer as he opened the cafe.
“Lord, we ask that they may use the Net to do a people search to find relatives who may help them,” he prayed. “Or that they may look at classified ads so they can find a job.”
Users are limited to one hour. Filtering software knocks out gambling sites and porn. But they’re encouraged to write up resumes and look for opportunities off the streets.
—–
To see more of the Press-Telegram, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.press-telegram.com.
Copyright (c) 2007, Press-Telegram, Long Beach, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.